And now that we have returned to the desultory life of the plain, let us endeavor to import a little of that mountain grandeur into it. We will remember within what walls we lie, and understand that this level life too has its summit, and why from the mountain-top the deepest valleys have a tinge of blue; that there is elevation in every hour, as no part of the earth is so low that the heavens may not be seen from, and we have only to stand on the summit of our hour to command an uninterrupted horizon.

Shams and delusions are esteemed for soundest truths, while reality is fabulous. If men would steadily observe realities only, and not allow themselves to be deluded, life ... would be like a fairy tale and the Arabian Nights' Entertainments.

Who hears the fishes when they cry?

Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts. God will see that you do not want society.

In my walks, I would fain return to my senses. What business have I in the woods if I am thinking of something out of the woods?

Each reader discovers for himself that, with respect to the simpler features of nature, succeeding poets have done little else than copy his similes.

Let every one mind his own business, and endeavor to be what he was made.